Democracy and dissent go hand in hand, but then the demonstrations expressing dissent have to be in designated places alone. The present case was not even one of protests taking place in an undesignated area, but was a blockage of a public way which caused grave inconvenience to commuters. We cannot accept the plea of the applicants that an indeterminable number of people can assemble whenever they choose to protest.
the persons opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, the details of which were yet to be propounded, had 2 adopted a method of protest which resulted in the closure of the Kalindi KunjShaheen Bagh stretch, including the Okhla underpass from 15.12.2019. It was submitted that the public roads could not be permitted to be encroached upon in this manner and, thus, a direction be issued to clear the same.
Furthermore, we live in the age of technology and the internet where social movements around the world have swiftly integrated digital connectivity into their toolkit; be it for organising, publicity or effective communication. Technology, however, in a near paradoxical manner, works to both empower digitally fuelled movements and at the same time, contributes to their apparent weaknesses. The ability to scale up quickly, for example, using digital infrastructure has empowered movements to embrace their often-leaderless aspirations and evade usual restrictions of censorship; however, the flip side to this is that social media channels are often fraught with danger and can lead to the creation of highly polarised environments, which often see parallel conversations running with no constructive outcome evident. Both these scenarios were witnessed in Shaheen Bagh, which started out as a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, gained momentum across cities to become a movement of solidarity for the women and their cause, but came with its fair share of chinks - as has been opined by the interlocutors and caused inconvenience of commuters. 11 19. We have, thus, no hesitation in concluding that such kind of occupation of public ways, whether at the site in question or anywhere else for protests is not acceptable and the administration ought to take action to keep the areas clear of encroachments or obstructions.
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3282 OF 2020
AMIT SAHNI …APPELLANT
Versus
COMMISSIONER OF POLICE & ORS. …RESPONDENTS
J U D G M E N T
SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.
1. Our country made tryst with destiny on the midnight hour of 15th August
1947, shedding the colonial yoke. Despite the pain and turbulence of the partition,
the best of the legal and political minds assembled together in the Constituent
Assembly to give us one of the most elaborate and modern Constitutions.
2. One of the bedrocks of the Constitution of India is the separation of powers
between the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. It is the function of the
Legislature to legislate, of the Executive to implement the legislation, and of the
1
Judiciary to test the constitutional validity of the legislation, if a challenge is so
laid.
3. The Legislature, in its wisdom, enacted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act,
2019, which has its share of supporters and opponents. The Legislature performed
its task. A section of the society, aggrieved by this legislative amendment, has filed
petitions before this Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, assailing
the constitutionality and legality of this amendment, which is pending
consideration. There is no stay of the legislation for the purpose of record.
4. There have been protests against this legislation in Delhi and in different
parts of the country. We had noted in our order dated 17.02.2020 that despite the
law facing a constitutional challenge before this Court, that by itself will not take
away the right to protest of the persons who feel aggrieved by the legislation. We,
however, simultaneously noted that the question was where and how the protest
can be carried on, without public ways being affected.
5. The aforesaid was in the context of a petition which was originally filed
before the Delhi High Court, as Writ Petition (Civil) No. 429/2020, which was
disposed of on the very first day, i.e., on 14.01.2020. The grievance made in the
petition was that the persons opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act and the
National Register of Citizens, the details of which were yet to be propounded, had
2
adopted a method of protest which resulted in the closure of the Kalindi KunjShaheen Bagh stretch, including the Okhla underpass from 15.12.2019. It was
submitted that the public roads could not be permitted to be encroached upon in
this manner and, thus, a direction be issued to clear the same.
6. The High Court directed the respondent authorities to look into the
grievances ventilated by the petitioner in the writ petition in accordance with the
law, rules, regulations and Government policies, but simultaneously, it asked the
respondent authorities to keep in mind the larger public interest as well as the
maintenance of the law and order. It was also emphasised that the respondents had
all the powers, jurisdiction and authority to control traffic wherever protests or
agitations were going on, in the larger public interest. In such a situation, it was
observed that no specific writ, order or direction can be issued as to how to handle
the agitation or protest, or even the place of protest and traffic, as the same would
be determined based on the ground reality and the wisdom of the police, especially
where situations may keep changing every 10 minutes.
7. However, since the situation remained the same, the petitioner therein filed
the present appeal by way of a Special Leave Petition against this order of the High
Court.
3
8. We may note that intervention applications were also filed by parties
claiming to have the best interests of the agitators in mind, or rather having
sympathy for them. In our order dated 17.02.2020, we had put to the learned
counsel of one of these applicants our concern that there may be persons of
different points of view who may tomorrow seek to emulate this protest and such a
scenario would only lead to a chaotic situation. Such kind of protests were, thus,
required to cease on public ways everywhere.
9. In our endeavour of pursuing an out of the box solution, we had considered
it appropriate to appoint two interlocutors - Mr. Sanjay R. Hegde, learned senior
counsel who was present in Court and Ms. Sadhana Ramachandran, who is a
mediator trainer, to meet the protestors at the site. The interlocutors made
appreciable effort and submitted a report before this court, which was taken note of
by us on 24.02.2020. We had perused the report and found that the nature of
demands was very wide and that it did look difficult to find a middle path towards
at least facilitating the opening of the blocked public way. However, unfortunate
developments in other parts of Delhi required us to adjourn the proceedings.
10. We had the benefit of a second report received on 22.03.2020 and perused
the same. We believe that the interlocutors had done their best, but their efforts
could not fructify into success, although the number of people at protest site had
4
eventually diminished. The report suggested that the views reflected in private
conversations with the protestors were somewhat different from the public
statements made to the media and to the protesting crowd in attendance. While the
women protestors had sat in protest inside the tent, there was a huge periphery
comprising mainly of male protestors, volunteers and bystanders who all seemed to
have a stake in the continuance of the blockade of the road. Even after the arrival
of the pandemic, when a visit was made to the site on 20.03.2020, it was found that
there were about 35-40 takhts inside the tent and each takht had 2-3 women
occupying the space, resulting in a rough estimate of about 75-100 women inside
the tent, as well as 200 or more outside the tent having a connection with the
protest. While the tent was occupying half of the carriageway, the remaining half
of the carriageway had been blocked by creating facilities such as a library, a large
model of India Gate and a big metallic three-dimensional map of India located
upon a very strong metal scaffolding and was anchored by heavy stones making its
removal very difficult. It appeared that an absence of leadership guiding the protest
and the presence of various groups of protesters had resulted in many influencers
who were acting possibly at cross-purposes with each other. Thus, the Shaheen
Bagh protest perhaps no longer remained the sole and empowering voice of
women, who also appeared to no longer have the ability to call off the protest
themselves. There was also the possibility of the protestors not fully realising the
5
ramifications of the pandemic, coupled with a general unwillingness to relocate to
another site.
11. We are conscious that we chartered a different path and thought of an out of
the box solution towards an effort which can loosely be called a mediation.
However, this did not produce a solution. But then, we have no regrets as we are of
the view that it is better to try and fail, than not to try at all!
12. The hand of God subsequently intervened and overtook the situation as not
only our country, but also the world grappled with the Coronavirus pandemic. This
pandemic, by its very definition, required coordination across the country and even
beyond the borders of our country. This resulted in repeated appeals of the
desirability of seclusion as a method to fight the disease. Greater wisdom prevailed
over the protestors at the Shaheen Bagh site and the site was cleared, albeit with
some police action to remove the aforementioned structures. The pandemic has,
however, not seen its end and we are still battling with the same. Thus, really
speaking, the reliefs in the present proceedings have worked themselves out.
13. We, however, pen down a few more lines for clarity on the subject on account
of its wider ramifications. Learned counsel for the applicants Mr. Mehmood
Pracha has sought to canvass that there was an absolute right of peaceful protest,
both in respect of space and numbers. He submitted that the right under Article
6
19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution of India are only circumscribed by the
provisions of Clauses (2) & (3), and the only applicable aspect would be ‘public
order’, but such restriction must be reasonable in character. On the other hand, the
appellant herein sought to contend that such a situation should be avoided in the
future and some norms may be laid down.
14. Mr. Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General referred to judicial
pronouncements to rebut the case sought to be made out by the applicants. In
Himat Lal K. Shah v. Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad & Anr.,
1
a challenge
was made to the rules framed by the Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad, by the
powers conferred under Section 33(1)(o) of the Bombay Police Act, 1951. One of
these rules required prior permission to be taken for the holding of public
meetings. The Supreme Court opined that the State can only make regulations in
aid of the right of assembly of each citizen and can only impose reasonable
restrictions in the interests of public order. With regard to whether or not these
rules violated Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution of India, it was held that while
the State cannot impose any unreasonable restrictions, a right to hold meetings on
public streets was subject to the control of the appropriate authority regarding the
time and place of the meeting and subject to considerations of public order.
However, as the rule requiring prior permission of the concerned authority did not
1 (1973) 1 SCC 227
7
contain any guidance as to when such permission to hold a public meeting may be
refused, it was found that the same conferred arbitrary powers and gave an
unguided discretion to the concerned authority, and this was accordingly held to be
ultra vires Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution.
15. In Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India & Anr.,
2
this Court
was concerned with regulating the aspect of demonstrations in the earmarked space
by the concerned authorities at Jantar Mantar. The judgment endeavoured to
emphasise on the principle of balancing the interests of the residents in the area
vis-à-vis the interests of protestors to hold demonstrations at Jantar Mantar. The
concerned police authority was directed to devise a proper mechanism for the
limited use of the Jantar Mantar area for peaceful protests and demonstrations and
to lay down parameters for the same. With regard to the orders being passed under
Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 prohibiting activities like
holding public meetings, processions, etc. in areas in and around the Parliament
area, the Court noted that the tenor and language of such orders indicated that the
concerned authority was to examine every request and take a decision as to
whether it should or should not allow the proposed demonstration, public meeting
etc., keeping in view its likely effect, namely, whether it would cause any
obstruction to traffic, danger to human safety or disturbance to public tranquility,
2 (2018) 17 SCC 324
8
etc. However, as such orders were repeatedly being passed, the same were held to
amount to create a situation of perpetuity, and also amounted to what would be
equivalent to the “banning” of public meetings, demonstrations, etc. The police and
other concerned authorities were accordingly directed to formulate proper and
requisite guidelines for regulating protests in and around the area.
16. India, as we know it today, traces its foundation back to when the seeds of
protest during our freedom struggle were sown deep, to eventually flower into a
democracy. What must be kept in mind, however, is that the erstwhile mode and
manner of dissent against colonial rule cannot be equated with dissent in a selfruled democracy. Our Constitutional scheme comes with the right to protest and
express dissent, but with an obligation towards certain duties. Article 19, one of the
cornerstones of the Constitution of India, confers upon its citizens two treasured
rights, i.e., the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a)
and the right to assemble peacefully without arms under Article 19(1)(b). These
rights, in cohesion, enable every citizen to assemble peacefully and protest against
the actions or inactions of the State. The same must be respected and encouraged
by the State, for the strength of a democracy such as ours lies in the same. These
rights are subject to reasonable restrictions, which, inter alia, pertain to the
interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India and public order, and to the
9
regulation by the concerned police authorities in this regard.3
Additionally, as was
discussed in the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan case, each fundamental right, be
it of an individual or of a class, does not exist in isolation and has to be balanced
with every other contrasting right. It was in this respect, that in this case, an
attempt was made by us to reach a solution where the rights of protestors were to
be balanced with that of commuters.
17. However, while appreciating the existence of the right to peaceful protest
against a legislation (keeping in mind the words of Pulitzer Prize winner, Walter
Lippmann, who said “In a democracy, the opposition is not only tolerated as
constitutional, but must be maintained because it is indispensable”), we have to
make it unequivocally clear that public ways and public spaces cannot be occupied
in such a manner and that too indefinitely. Democracy and dissent go hand in hand,
but then the demonstrations expressing dissent have to be in designated places
alone. The present case was not even one of protests taking place in an
undesignated area, but was a blockage of a public way which caused grave
inconvenience to commuters. We cannot accept the plea of the applicants that an
indeterminable number of people can assemble whenever they choose to protest.
Justice K.K. Mathew in the Himat Lal case4
had eloquently observed that “Streets
and public parks exist primarily for other purposes and the social interest
3 See In re Ramlila Maidan Incident, (2012) 5 SCC 1
4 (supra)
10
promoted by untrammeled exercise of freedom of utterance and assembly in public
street must yield to social interest which prohibition and regulation of speech are
designed to protect. But there is a constitutional difference between reasonable
regulation and arbitrary exclusion.”
18. Furthermore, we live in the age of technology and the internet where social
movements around the world have swiftly integrated digital connectivity into their
toolkit; be it for organising, publicity or effective communication. Technology,
however, in a near paradoxical manner, works to both empower digitally fuelled
movements and at the same time, contributes to their apparent weaknesses. The
ability to scale up quickly, for example, using digital infrastructure has empowered
movements to embrace their often-leaderless aspirations and evade usual
restrictions of censorship; however, the flip side to this is that social media
channels are often fraught with danger and can lead to the creation of highly
polarised environments, which often see parallel conversations running with no
constructive outcome evident. Both these scenarios were witnessed in Shaheen
Bagh, which started out as a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act,
gained momentum across cities to become a movement of solidarity for the women
and their cause, but came with its fair share of chinks - as has been opined by the
interlocutors and caused inconvenience of commuters.
11
19. We have, thus, no hesitation in concluding that such kind of occupation of
public ways, whether at the site in question or anywhere else for protests is not
acceptable and the administration ought to take action to keep the areas clear of
encroachments or obstructions.
20. We are also of the view that the High Court should have monitored the
matter rather than disposing of the Writ Petition and creating a fluid situation. No
doubt, it is the responsibility of the respondent authorities to take suitable action,
but then such suitable action should produce results. In what manner the
administration should act is their responsibility and they should not hide behind the
court orders or seek support therefrom for carrying out their administrative
functions. The courts adjudicate the legality of the actions and are not meant to
give shoulder to the administration to fire their guns from. Unfortunately, despite a
lapse of a considerable period of time, there was neither any negotiations nor any
action by the administration, thus warranting our intervention.
21. We only hope that such a situation does not arise in the future and protests
are subject to the legal position as enunciated above, with some sympathy and
dialogue, but are not permitted to get out of hand.
22. We, accordingly, close these proceedings, once again expressing our
appreciation of the difficult roles played by the interlocutors.
12
23. The Civil Appeal stands disposed of, leaving the parties to bear their own
costs.
…………………………….J.
[SANJAY KISHAN KAUL]
…………………………….J.
[ANIRUDDHA BOSE]
…………………………….J.
[KRISHNA MURARI]
NEW DELHI.
OCTOBER 07, 2020.
13
